In his book Around Whickham Through Time he traces how the area has changed and developed.

Armed with old photographs of Whickham, Sunniside, Marley Hill, Lobley Hill, Swalwell and Dunston he went out and about to pinpoint the location in the picture and took a fresh shot to show how it looks today.

The end result is 180 photographs giving a fascinating peek into how places have changed or not.

Dr Neave, a psychologist at Northumbria University, got the idea 20 years ago while carrying out a history project with youngsters at Chillingham Road Primary in Newcastle.

He has also published a similar book about Gateshead but this one was easier because he was able to tap into the archives held by Sunniside Local History Society, of which he is vice-chairman.

“For the Gateshead book I had to do a lot of historical research and poring over maps,” said Dr Neave, 45, who lives in Sunniside. “The help I had from society members was invaluable. They were a treasure trove of information and photographs and they were fantastic in helping me find places.”

“Local people were also a tremendous help. One of the highlights was meeting people in the street and asking them about their area.”

“What was really interesting was that while some people had incredibly strong memories about a place others were completely wrong. But most of the time they were right and were extremely helpful.

“It brought back so many memories for people. It’s a shame but these oral memories of ordinary people who lived and worked in the pits, in factories and shops that have long gone will also vanish.

“But hopefully my book will bring back some of those memories.”

He hopes that the book gives people an appreciation of the many changes that have taken place and a feel for its history.

In some cases the changes have been dramatic, making it difficult to compare old and new scenes. Sometimes he had to use a single feature, such as a building or part of the landscape to pinpoint the spot.

But in other cases there is a striking similarity between the images, showing little change over time.

Some pubs and churches that were the hub of their communities still remain, there are remnants of old buildings which have been given a modern makeover, sleepy streets where children once played and workers plied their trade on horse and cart are now busy roads with cars replacing carts.

Francis Newman, secretary of Sunniside Local History Society, said: “Most of the changes have been due to the death of coal mining. Some changes have been good and some bad. While some villages have seen one closure after the other of pubs, clubs, churches and schools, others have thrived, like Whickham, where housing has increased as people move out of the city.”